Development aid as a continuous contribution: The case of the Sahelian countries

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The study aims to explore whether Sahelian countries need continuous contributions to ensure their survival, what challenges face the international development co-operation, and what is the role of the German development co-operation in particular. The economic problems of the region are ascribed to the serious deterioration of climatic and external economic conditions as well as a poor resource base, population growth, conflict and conceptual difficulties. For the last twenty five years, agricultural productivity has been growing far more slowly than population. The position of the Sahelian countries both with respect to German aid, and structural adjustment programs is that they are in such need of assistance that large portions of the population cannot survive without continuous assistance from donors; the maxims of basic-needs orientation and helping the people help themselves have meant that donors are committed to financing key sectors on a long term basis. However, tying aid to development projects erodes the donors bargaining power and counts them out of the development decision making process. Efficiency in project work can be increased by concentrating on essential basic-needs sectors, specification of realistic objectives, realistic budgeting and careful selection of locations and intensity. The needs of the Sahelian region are determined in part by the weather; in comparison with the long term average (1901-1984) no year between 1968 and 1984 had above average rainfall. If, as is mooted, this is a result of local anthropogenic ecological destabilization and climatic deterioration, this has implications for development co-operation priorities. The evapotranspiration-precipitation cycle is adversely affected by overgrazing and deforestation which leads to water erosion. The clearing of West African forests reduces the rate of evaporation in the region, and the moisture content of the south-westerlies that bring rain; with the destruction of the vegetation, more heat is reflected by the bare earth (albedo). This, it is argued, is responsible for the spread of the desert southwards and explain the drought in the Sahel. However, this does not fully explain the drought conditions experienced thus far, and it remains to be seen how long they persist. If the drought proves to be long term, the report advocates making a distinction between three zones of action, an evacuation zone, a stabilization zone, and a southern zone in which economic and social capacities can be developed. -b/m